PYONGYANG, April 15 (Itar-Tass) - In the light of the aggravation of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Democcratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday celebrates the main national holiday -- the Birthday Anniversary of Kim IL Sung, the Founder and First President of the Republic.
The press here recalls that Pyongyang currently tackles all matters connected with inter-Korean relations "according to the state-of-war laws"; Japan, owing to its hostile policy, "may become the first target for the Korean People's Army"; American bases in the Asia-Pacific Region in the event of a provocation on the part of the USA may also find themselves in peril. A tranquil atmosphere is keepimg on in the DPRK's capital which is located away from the Demilitarized Zone and from the coast of the Sea of Japan (East Sea), where, as Western media assert, mobile launchers with ready-for-launch ballistic missiles are located.
Despite the suggestion from the DPRK Foreign Ministry to foreign institutions to consider evacuating personnel due to the threat of a conflict on the Korean Peninusla, the staff of diplomatic missions and international humanitarian institutions continue to work in their offices.
On Monday morning, a mass pilgrimage began to the Kumsusan Palace where the tombs of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are located. Delegates to the recent session of parliament approved a resolution pointing out the all Koreans "must view this majestic edifice as a shrine and symbol of the dignity and pride of the entire nation".
Numerous exhibitions are open in Pyongyang and othe cities of the country on the occasion of the Sun Festival. Tour guides tell visitors about "the unfading revolutionary deeds of Kim Il Sung -- the auyhor lg the famous Juche ideas which accentuate the country's reliance on its own and on the distinctiveness of the Korean nation. The festivities are involving ethnic Koreans who have arrived here from Russia, China, and Japan. The Morangbon Ensemble of Ethnic Koreans from Uzbekistan is successfully giving performances at here at the current folk art festival. There are many foreignr tourists in the city's streets. They ignore the warnings about an explosive situation on the Peninsula. This past Sunday, athletes from 16 countries and regions, including Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Ethiopnia, participated in an international marathon timed to coincide with the festival.
State flags, and the red flags of the Workers' Party of Korra are hung out in Pyongyang streets. Highlighted in the evenings is the local llandmark -- the 150-metre-high granite Juche Ideas Monument with a red 20-metre torch at the top. The Juche Monument, built in 1982, is intended to "symbolize for ever the ideological and theoretical services and invaluable revolutionary accomplishments of the Korean Leader". The Monument is featuring magnolia which is reckoned the national Korean flower. It is also represented on the Order of Kim Il Sung. The Order, which was instituted in 1972, is the DPRK's highest distinction. The Pyongyang-based famous stadium seating 150,000 outwardly resembles a magnolia flower. The stadium is used for the mass games Arirang show which has been entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest-scale artistic and sports display.